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Archive for November, 2015

Filing has closed for the North Orange County Community College District Special Election to fill the vacancy left when Area 3 Trustee Donna Miller (D) resigned on June 30 just seven months after being re-elected to a four-year term. Miller had been on the Board for nearly 19 years.

Four people took out papers to run for the seat, and all four returned them and qualified for the ballot. In alphabetical order, they are (with their party affiliation and ballot designation):

Exact ballot order will be determined by a lottery by the Secretary of State later this morning.

Daniel D. Billings

Married to a high school science teacher, Billings works for Southern California Edison. He was the appointee to the seat until Salehi overturned his appointment by petition. A graduate of Fullerton College, he earned degrees from Whittier College and Azusa Pacific University; he also obtained a certificate at UCI.

Billings does not list any endorsements but does note his unanimous appointment by the NOCCCD Board.

Stephen T. Blount

A member of the Cypress School Board since 2010, Blount is a corporate controller. He was a Democrat until 2014, when he reregistered as a Republican. He was the Democrats’ nominee for the 67th Assembly District against Assemblyman Jim Silva (R) in 2008. Holding a certificate from Cypress College, he earned degrees from Biola University and Azusa Pacific University.

He notes endorsements from Coast Community College District Trustee Jim Moreno (D) and Centralia School District Board President Steve Harris (NPP). Oddly, he also notes endorsements from several appointed staff: Cypress School District Superintendent. Normally, staff do not endorse in political races because of the neutral position their offices are supposed to hold.

A La Palma City Councilman since 2010, Hwangbo is a businessman and engineer. He was the top vote-getter in his 2014 re-election, coming in more than 13% ahead of the second vote-getter. A community college graduate, he earned a degree at UCLA before going on to USC.

NOCCCD Trustee Area 3 consists of the entire City of La Palma, most of the City of Buena Park, the City of Cypress north of Orange Avenue, and two portions of Anaheim (one north of Ball Road and west of Beach Boulevard; the other north of La Palma Avenue and west of Magnolia Avenue).

Five people applied to fill the vacancy in Trustee Area 3. In four rounds of voting on August 25:

In the first round of voting, the trustees voted: 3 votes for George O’Hara (R), 2 votes for Daniel Billings (NPP), and 1 vote for Jon Hultman (R).

In the second and third rounds, George O’Hara and Daniel Billings each got 3 votes.

In the fourth round, the NOCCCD trustees voted to appoint Daniel Billings.

Billings was to hold the seat until November 2016, when the seat would be up for a two-year short-term election. The seat would then resume a regular four-year term in the November 2018 election.

However, Salehi, who the trustees did not support, then used Education Code 5091 and hired petition circulators to get signatures from 1.5% of registered voters within 30 days of the appointment, which invalidated the appointment (removing Billings from office) and triggered a special election. (1.5% of registered voters in NOCCCD Trustee Area 3 is 799 valid signatures.)

Salehi is a colorful figure:

Last month, the Orange County Registerreported that the Orange County Registrar of Voters successfully sued Salehi for $4,248 for not paying for his candidate statement in 2014.

The Laguna Beach Coastline Pilotreported that Salehi pulled papers for Laguna Beach City Council and Laguna Beach Unified School District in 2010, but on the last day of filing, he registered to vote in Buena Park and filed to run for the Buena Park Library District, where he realized he would be unopposed, as the second candidate to file for two seats.

Salehi has made no fewer than 8 unsuccessful bids for elected office:

1996: Laguna Beach Unified School District (winning 11% and coming in last)

1998: Laguna Beach Unified School District (winning 5.7% and coming in sixth out of seven)

2000: Laguna Beach Unified School District (winning 6.5% and coming in last)

2004: Irvine Unified School District (winning 4.8% of the vote and coming in seventh out of eight)

2010: United States Senate (winning 27% of the American Independent Party vote and coming in last in the AIP primary)

2012: Buena Park City Council (winning 9.5% of the vote and coming in fourth out of eight)

2014: United States Congress, 45th District (winning 2.6% of the vote and coming in last)

2014: Buena Park City Council (winning 12.1% of the vote and coming in fourth out of eight)

It has been more than a decade since the decision that approved a city’s taking of Susette Kelo’s home. As stated in Part I, memories in Sacramento are short. Not one member of the California State Assembly stood to speak against AB 2, the new law re-authorizing such takings of private property. The new name of these Sheriff-of-Nottingham agencies is CRIA, Community Revitalization Investment Authority, the purpose for any city or municipality to create such an agency is clear. The purpose is to ‘take’ from ordinary home owners and give the property to their wealthy friends and developers.

Not just in California though, other states have similarly exercised voluntary amnesia about how badly the Kelo case went for both the homeowners who lost at the Supreme Court, and the city who lost ultimately, holding the bag on a bunch of vacant land. Similar fights have gone on in New Jersey and in Colorado.

Glendale, Colorado, pursued a plan to take a family owned Persian rug store and turn it into an entertainment complex. The family pushed back, and the city ultimately decided it did not need that specific property to move forward with its plan. However, the city had designated the property as “blighted”. The family sought to have the designation removed, but the city refused, saying that there were conditions on the property that had not been improved since the “blight” label had been attached. These were not new conditions, but existing conditions, pursuant to the city’ definition of “blight” which could have been anything from poor lighting, deteriorating structures, poor street layout, environmental contamination or an unsafe condition. The family filed suit against the city on October 27, 2015 to have that label removed from their property. There is no resolution yet.

In Atlantic City, Charlie Birnbaum owns a home near a casino, that has been in his family for 45 years. Last spring, the Casino Redevelopment Authority, sought to obtain Charlie’s home and bulldoze it, making way to expand the Revel Casino. However, there are already multiple other vacant lots surrounding the casino that have not yet been used, and the casino has filed bankruptcy twice, and has now closed. The city is still seeking to take Charlie’s house from him. Charlie does not live there anymore, he uses the property for his piano teaching and tuning business. He has vowed not to surrender his family home without a fight. He has also asked to know what will be done with the property, in effect, he wants to know, is there a good reason to give up this family treasure. There is still no answer, because they do not have a plan.

Remember, from the Part I of this post, that our local representatives, Chang and Kim, were on the very quiet bandwagon to reimplement Eminent Domain practices in our state. There really is no way of knowing why they voted in support of this, feel free to ask them, if they have some friends in building associations or development that encouraged their vote in this direction. Also worth considering though, is what you likely saw on your own newsfeed this fall, while this vote was quietly making it’s way through Sacramento.

You may have seen headlines indicating that both the Chargers of San Diego, and the Raiders of Oakland, are considering a move. Also noteworthy, the ongoing pandering with the Anaheim City Council and Arte Moreno, the owner of the Angels. They are going to need property, and these professional sports teams are favorite pet-projects of politicians elected to small city offices. These projects are always pitched under the ‘revenue’ enhancement argument, about how great it will be for the sales tax income of the city, but make no mistake, welfare is welfare even if the welfare recipient is a wealthy owner of a sports franchise, and they will not stop at simply given tax breaks and donating land, if they want your land, they are going to take your land.

This is a likely direction for the ugly growth of Eminent Domain powers in your neighborhood. Be on the lookout, political favoritism and outright takings are coming to a neighborhood near you. No one’s property is safe.

The day to thank all of our nation’s veterans for their risks and sacrifice to defend our nation and our freedom, Veterans Day, was first proclaimed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1954, replacing Armistice Day…

Proclamation 3071By the President of the United States of AmericaA ProclamationWhereas it has long been our custom to commemorate November 11, the anniversary of the ending of World War I, by paying tribute to the heroes of that tragic struggle and by rededicating ourselves to the cause of peace; and

Whereas in the intervening years the United States has been involved in two other great military conflicts, which have added millions of veterans living and dead to the honor rolls of this Nation; and

Whereas the Congress passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926 (44 Stat. 1982), calling for the observance of November 11 with appropriate ceremonies, and later provided in an act approved May 13, 1938 (52 Stat. 351), that the eleventh of November should be a legal holiday and should be known as Armistice Day; and

Whereas, in order to expand the significance of that commemoration and in order that a grateful Nation might pay appropriate homage to the veterans of all its wars who have contributed so much to the preservation of this Nation, the Congress, by an act approved June 1, 1954 (68 Stat. 168), changed the name of the holiday to Veterans Day:

Now, Therefore, I, Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America, do hereby call upon all of our citizens to observe Thursday, November 11, 1954, as Veterans Day. On that day let us solemnly remember the sacrifices of all those who fought so valiantly, on the seas, in the air, and on foreign shores, to preserve our heritage of freedom, and let us reconsecrate ourselves to the task of promoting an enduring peace so that their efforts shall not have been in vain. I also direct the appropriate officials of the Government to arrange for the display of the flag of the United States on all public buildings on Veterans Day.

In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans’ organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans’ Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible.

In Witness Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States of America to be affixed.

DONE at the City of Washington this eighth day of October in the year of our Lord nineteen hundred and fifty-four, and of the Independence of the United States of America the one hundred and seventy-ninth.

In a coup for conservatives, the Republican party, and businesses throughout much of Southern California, Dwight Robinson defeated Miguel Pulido for the Orange County cities’ representative on the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) Board. As reported by OCPolitical’s own Chris Nguyen earlier, having to win the majority vote of all Orange County mayors, both in the number of cities, and overall county population, Robinson garnered 21 cities and 54% of the County’s population, to Pulido’s 12 cities and 45% of the population. Pulido was Orange County’s representative on the AQMD for over a decade.

Robinson’s victory is significant as it flips the AQMD Board from 7-6 Democrat to 7-6 Republican, which will have considerable impact for many Southern California businesses.

Of his victory, Robinson said, “I am very proud of the broad based support I had across the spectrum that helped secured the votes I needed. I deeply care about air quality and the environment. I drive an electric car. I put solar panels on my house earlier this year. Equally important to me are jobs and the regional economy. Many of the things AQMD has been doing over the last decade have driven companies, jobs, and the middle class out of Southern California. I am dedicated to making sure that AQMD balances sensible environmental stewardship with middle class job retention.”

The race was marred by infighting from Republicans and rumors of Pulido offering support to mayors and their cities in exchange for their votes. The most curious (and in my opinion, disappointing) aspect was the battle that erupted between Irvine Councilman Jeff Lalloway and Mayor Steven Choi. As reported here, Choi was unavailable for the vote so he originally designated Lalloway as his voting representative. However, it was reported that Lalloway was planning on voting for Pulido, and Choi removed Lalloway and appointed Christina Shea to vote instead. Shea voted for Robinson, giving a size able chunk of population to Robinson. While Lalloway denied that he had made up his mind on who to vote for, his claim that the Orange County Republican party’s support for Robinson was a push by California Republican Party Jim Brulte to strong-arm local Republicans to vote lock-step with the party is curious given that the race pitted Robinson, a strong Republican conservative and pro-business candidate, against Pulido, an avowed liberal Democrat who recently admitted to six violations of the Political Reform Act. Pulido also previously appointed his brother as a part-time consultant to the AQMD, a position that paid more than $35,000 per year.

By popular request, here’s the complete list of votes at the City Selection Committee for the Orange County cities’ seat at the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) seat, held by Mayor Miguel Pulido (D-Santa Ana) since 2005, which Councilman Dwight Robinson (R-Lake Forest) captured tonight. My live blog of the meeting is here.

21 cities, comprising 54.06% of the population of Orange County, voted for Robinson. 12 cities, comprising 44.79% of the population of Orange County, voted for Pulido. San Juan Capistrano (1.15% of the population) missed the meeting. To win the AQMD seat, a candidate needed both a majority of the cities and votes from cities comprising the majority of Orange County’s population.

The city that saved the day for Robinson was Irvine. Holding 8.58% of the population of Orange County, had Irvine voted for Pulido, there would have been a stalemate, with Robinson getting 20 cities and 45.48% of the population while Pulido would have had 13 cities and 53.37% of the population.

As was reported here first on OC Political by Brenda McCune and then on Voice of OC by Adam Elmahrek, rumors swirled that Irvine Councilman Jeff Lalloway intended to vote for Pulido. Responding to this, as reported by McCune and Elmahrek, Irvine Mayor Steven Choi replaced Lalloway with Councilwoman Christina Shea as Irvine’s representative, and Shea duly cast her vote for Robinson.

All six Democrats present cast their votes for Pulido. The two No Party Preference people split their votes between the Pulido and Robinson. 20 Republicans voted for Robinson while 5 Republicans voted for Pulido.

The five who crossed party lines were:

Steve Mensinger (R-Costa Mesa)

Jim Katapodis (R-Huntington Beach)

Ed Selich (R-Newport Beach)

Al Ethans (R-Stanton)

Chuck Puckett (R-Tustin)

While Katapodis was instructed by Mayor Jill Hardy (D-Huntington Beach) to vote for Pulido, Mensinger, Selich, Ethans, and Puckett are all mayors, so they were able to vote at their own direction.

Your intrepid blogger has defeated traffic and arrived at the City Selection Committee meeting, where Orange County’s 34 mayors (or their representatives) have gathered to select who will serve on various regional boards, with the biggest slugfest between Mayor Miguel Pulido (D-Santa Ana) and Councilman Dwight Robinson (R-Lake Forest), as Robinson tries to unseat Pulido from the AQMD seat representing OC’s cities.

5:27 PM: They clearly had a slow start, as I’m almost 30 minutes late, and they’re still on the second appointment.

The first appointment went to Huntington Beach Councilman Billy O’Connell on the Commission to End Homelessness on a 20-2-4 vote.

The second appointment was the Housing and Community Development Commission, where Huntington Beach Councilman Billy O’Connell defeated Anaheim Councilwoman Lucille Kring 20-10.

Pulido speaks about his concern for business. He says there is cleaner air. He speaks of balancing these concerns, pointing to his actions on beach fire rings. He speaks of money not coming to Orange County, unless he can deliver it. He says he will be responsive to all OC City Councilmembers.

Robinson speaks of being a fourth generation Californian. He speaks of his children, his electric car, and his house’s solar panels. He speaks of the importance of clean air. He speaks of being a businessman and the importance of jobs and economic growth.

5:56 PM: The Clerk is tabulating.

5:58 PM: Robinson is ahead of Pulido 21-12. The population tabulation is pending.

La Palma Mayor Peter Kim initially marks his ballot for Pulido but says he meant to vote for Robinson, so his vote is changed after the roll call of votes is announced.

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Newly-elected California Republican Party Vice Chairman South Jeff Lalloway, who is also OC GOP Treasurer, is learning what a real Republican has to do. Tonight, Orange County cities will select a City Councilmember to represent OC’s interests on the South Coast Air Quality Management District – one of the most powerful and draconian unelected agencies in the state. They’ve put numerous companies out of business with fines and last year they banned wood burning fire rings on LA and OC’s beaches.

Lalloway was Irvine’s representative to the City Selection Committee voting on the AQMD position. State GOP Chairman Jim Brulte has publicly stated the importance of appointing a Republican to the AQMD.

Lalloway signaled his support for Santa Ana Mayor Miguel Pulido, a liberal Democrat with ties to Hillary Clinton. Worse than that, just a few months ago, the FPPC found that Pulido committed six violations of the Political Reform Act involving a land deal with a city contractor. Not only that, Pulido even appointed his brother to be his consultant/assistant at AQMD.

We can only hope that GOP leaders take Lalloway to the woodshed.

Irvine Mayor Steven Choi, currently a 68th Assembly District candidate, may have saved the day by pulling Lalloway off the City Selection Committee and replacing him with long-time conservative Councilwoman Christina Shea.

The businesses and residents of Orange County owe Choi and Shea a debt of gratitude for their role in ending Pulido’s reign at AQMD.

Lalloway, known for his rattlesnake personality, sent this nastygram of an email to Choi:

I will be pulling my endorsement of you and supporting another candidate in your assembly race. As a matter of fact, I will be doing everything I can to make sure you lose in every race you ever run again. Say goodbye to your political career.

All Choi had written before Lalloway’s completely over the top response was:

Dear Jeff:

I must withdraw my email to you earlier for you to attend the Selection Committee meeting on November 5th.

I have asked Christina Shea to represent me who will be voting in my place according to my direction.

Assembly Republicans and Local Leaders Call on Democrats to Fast-Track GOP Plan to Fix California’s Roads

Four Months Later, GOP Plan to #FixOurRoads Still Only Practical Plan

FULLERTON, CA – Members of the Assembly Republican Caucus and local community leaders will hold a press conference on Thursday to urge Democratic leaders to fast-track the Assembly Republican transportation plan. Four months after gaveling in a special session on transportation, the Assembly Republican plan to #FixOurRoads is still the only practical, comprehensive plan on the table that does not raise taxes.

Unveiled in June, the 9-point plan would generate $6.6 billion in annual funding for roads and highways without new taxes. In addition, roughly half of the funds generated for transportation by the Assembly Republican plan goes back to local government to help fund local infrastructure improvements.

The OC GOP Central Committee is convened in a special meeting tonight to consider early endorsements for Assemblyman Ling-Ling Chang for the 29th Senate District (being vacated by the termed out Bob Huff), Assemblywoman Young Kim for re-election in the 65th Assembly District, and Supervisor Andrew Do for re-election in the 1st Supervisorial District.

7:15 PM: Chairman Fred Whitaker spoke about the OC GOP’s priorities in key State and County seats. County GOP endorsements are required before California Republican Party resources can help a candidate. In SD-29, that requires three county parties: Los Angeles, Orange, and San Bernardino. In AD-65, it only requires Orange.

7:21 PM: Do spoke of his 43-vote victory over front runner Lou Correa earlier this year. He spoke of the importance of the OC GOP endorsement in the special election against Correa. He spoke of having an all-Republican Board of Supervisors. He spoke of his seat having a 12% Democratic registration advantage. He reminded the OC GOP of union expenditures from the special election. He spoke of his efforts for transparency, fiscal responsibility, and public safety.

7:25 PM: Whitaker asked if there were any questions.

7:26 PM: Supervisor Todd Spitzer praisee Supervisor Do as an excellent and honorable member of the Board of Supervisors.

7:27 PM: Do said he works with Probation to keep track of trends and take action when there are spikes in crime in local areas.

7:28 PM: Allan Bartlett thanked Do for his efforts against redevelopment.

7:29 PM: Do endorsed unanimously 45-0.

7:30 PM: Whitaker reads a letter from Congressman Ed Royce that describes how she is an anti-tax, pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment Republican legislator.

7:31 PM: Young Kim thanks the OC GOP for its efforts last year to defeat Sharon Quirk-Silva and break the Democrats’ 2/3 supermajority in the State Assembly. She speaks of fighting against new taxes. She says she cast over 2,400 votes as an Assemblymember. She says she has a pro-life, pro-2nd Amendment, and pro-taxpayer record. She says she has an
“A” rating from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association. She says she helped stop $30 billion in tax increases. She notes she has to vote to represent her constituents. She warns she is the #1 target set, and Democrats have $16 million for Assembly seats across the State. She warns that Sharon Quirk-Silva has $350,000 cash on hand while Kim has $450,000 cash on hand. Kim spent $2.2 million in 2014 while Quirk-Silva spent $4.5 million.

7:37 PM: Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang asked when did Quirk-Silva began her campaign to unseat Kim.

7:38 PM: Kim stated that the day she was sworn in, the Speaker of the Assembly started seeking an Asian candidate to unseat Kim. In March, the Democrats gave up on finding an Asian challenger and backed a new bid by Quirk-Silva.

7:40 PM: Kim stated vaccinations were a very personal decision. Kim spoke of her daughter’s two brain surgeries and compromised immune system.

She stated on redevelopment, she expressed concern to the redevelopment bill’s author, Assemblyman Luis Alejo, on property rights and eminent domain. Alejo assured her he would fix those items. She voted for the bill based on Alejo’s promise to fix the bill. When the bill returned to the Assembly for a concurrence vote, she did not vote for it because the promise was not kept.

On asset forfeiture, she said she spoke to law enforcement in her district who stated the asset forfeiture bill would make it more difficult for law enforcement to fight crime.

7:44 PM: Alexandria Coronado says she received 26 emails in opposition to Kim on redevelopment and vaccinations. She stated the running theme on the emails was that she was not responsive to their concerns.

7:45 PM: Kim explained that she had scheduled a meeting with the group in question but ran into conflict with the legislative busy period. She tried to reschedule, but the bill vote occurred before this rescheduled meeting could take place during the very rapid end-of-session period when she was required to be in Sacramento and could not get down to the district. She offered to meet with them now and left voicemails with them.

7:51 PM: Kim stated the resolution, which did not have the force of law, recognized the contributions of all people, including LGBT individuals. She noted the California Republican Party’s chartering of the Log Cabin Republicans. She stated she voted for tolerance and inclusiveness.

7:52 PM: Allan Bartlett asked about asset forfeiture.

7:53 PM: Kim stated she voted her conscience in the interests of her district.

7:55 PM: Stanton Councilman David Shawver supported Kim, speaking of how hardworking Kim is. He spoke of the party’s resources, including time, manpower, and money, spent to keep the 65th Assembly District seat. He calls for the party to unify behind Kim to keep the seat. He said she has repeatedly and consistently been a fixture in the district.

7:58 PM: Zonya Townsend proposed delaying Kim’s early endorsement, citing her vote on SB 277, the vaccination bill, preferring a later endorsement. She stated many Democrats left their party over SB 277. Townsend argued the OC GOP resolution was contrary to Kim’s position. She criticized Kim for speaking on the Assembly Floor in favor of SB 277.

8:00 PM: Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang spoke of Kim being the only candidate who could defeat Quirk-Silva. She warned that Quirk-Silva is everywhere and that Quirk-Silva would be a far, far worse vote in the Assembly. She plead for people to look at the bigger picture. She warned that Democrats would spend millions in a presidential election year to capture the 65th Assembly District seat.

8:02 PM: Mike Glenn stated property rights are important. He said law enforcement should not take people’s assets, their property. He stated people should have the right to do what they want with their own body, and cited the vaccination bill. He said eminent domain threatens property rights. He stated he wanted to delay Kim’s endorsement, not oppose it.

8:04 PM: Assemblyman Matt Harper warned that Quirk-Silva is a hard worker who believes she is a little Loretta Sanchez. He called Quirk-Silva a true believer in liberalism. Harper stated Kim is one of the most capable members of articulating conservative positions making liberals wince. Harper stated people are quibbling with literally just a handful of votes.

8:07 PM: Supervisor Todd Spitzer raised a point of inquiry about what would a delay accomplish.

8:08 PM: Ed Gunderson said he agreed with Kim on 80%-90% of issues. Gunderson attacked the California Republican Party’s decision to charter the Log Cabin Republicans. He stated his concern of Kim contacting law enforcement on the civil forfeiture bill. He criticized her vaccination vote.

8:10 PM: Lake Forest Mayor Scott Voigts made a point of inquiry noting that 5 votes out of 2,400 means 99.9% of her votes are not being criticized.

8:11 PM: Kim overwhelmingly endorsed for re-election with 43 votes.

8:13 PM: Whitaker described the 29th Senate District, including Democrats moving Sukhee Kang from Irvine to run for the seat.

8:15 PM: Assemblywoman Ling-Ling Chang spoke of giving up a safe Republican Assembly seat to run for a target Senate seat. She spoke of having reduced legislative tenure under the new term limits by switching houses. She spoke of her conservative record in Sacramento.

8:17 PM: McCurdy asked Chang about her votes on redevelopment and civil asset forfeiture. He asked if she endorsed or contributed to Democrats or if she is pro-life.

8:18 PM: Chang pointed out she voted against the redevelopment bill on concurrence. She stated that due process was still in place on civil asset forfeiture. She stayed she has never endorsed a Democrat in a partisan race and that she is personally pro-life.